


Open Eyes, Open Heart

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Meddling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 11:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18365048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: “You should have some more self-respect baby,” Smurf said to Adrian, her voice low. “Staying with a man who beat you?” She tsked.Smurf tries to come between Deran and Adrian.For the D&A Exchange Event!





	Open Eyes, Open Heart

**Author's Note:**

> AK Fic Exchange for @iammine-notyours
> 
> Full prompt:  
>  _Smurf tries to divide Deran and Adrian. Set in the present time she brings it up casually: “oh yeah you love Adrian so much, that’s why you put him in the hospital with broken ribs, and threw the man he was seeing off of a boat?” Smurf could know the boys were running jobs because how else would Deran get the 4 grand to pay Adrian back? Smurf could say things like “Really Adrian, are you that weak that you went back to a man who beat you to hide? What are you? A housewife?”_

“Jesus Christ Smurf! We’re not playing you!” Craig yelled at her.

 

Deran scoffed. The woman would forever be paranoid that she couldn’t control them. She wasn’t entirely wrong, though. Given half an inch of space and freedom, Deran would gladly take a mile or two or a hundred. But she had him wrapped up tight right now so there was nothing she should be worried about from him. She was using Lena to keep Pope in line and Craig had no other options so really, she was threatening all of them for no reason.

 

“You think I’m stupid?” Smurf asked rhetorically. “You think I don’t know that you boys like to skim a little from the jobs? That is my money you’re taking! And we can’t have that happen anymore.”

 

“You think we’re going to steal from you?” Pope asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest and an angry expression on his face. It was more emotion than Deran had seen from his brother since he took Lena back to live with her foster family. He took a step closer to Smurf, the smaller woman raising her chin defiantly. “Baz stole your goddamn money Smurf, not us. You wanted us all here, back together, and we’re here. So stop fucking hounding us about this bullshit.”

 

“Andrew,” Smurf warned but Pope only glared. “This isn’t bullshit. It’s a serious trust issue. If we’re going to pull jobs again, I need to be able to trust you boys not to skim from the take.”

 

“When have we ever skimmed from the take?” Deran asked. Smurf turned to him slowly, a smile playing at her lips and Deran’s gut sank. She knew something. He didn’t know what she could know but it was  _ something _ . 

 

“Really, baby?” She cooed at him. “You’re gonna sit there and act like you never stole my money?”

 

Deran stiffened and sat up straight but he didn’t answer. She wasn’t finished and he wasn’t going to give her any more ammo than he apparently already had. 

 

“What about that time you took four thousand dollars to pay back Adrian’s medical bills after you beat him and sent him to the hospital?” 

 

There it was. Deran had no idea how she could possibly know about that, down to the exact amount of money, but now he finally understood why Smurf had insisted Adrian come to the family meeting today. Across the room, J held up his hands and shook his head to indicate he hadn’t said anything. Opposite him, Craig pushed himself to his feet and Pope took a step towards Smurf, both already defending Deran.

 

But Deran only cared about the man sitting next to him. Ignoring Smurf’s smirk, Deran turned to Adrian. The other man had gone rigid but he was staring back at Smurf, not backing down.

 

“You should have some more self-respect baby,” Smurf said to Adrian, her voice low but somehow drowning out Craig and Pope’s continued defense. “Staying with a man who beat you?” She tsked. “I know my baby’s handsome and great in bed but is his dick really worth it? Subjecting yourself to being his little housewife? Or are you just too weak to walk away?”

 

Deran jumped to his feet and was in Smurf’s face in seconds. He opened his mouth to fire back but a gentle hand on his arm stopped him. Deran didn’t look away from Smurf’s smug face but he did let Adrian tug him back a few steps. The other man stepped in front of him with a smile on his face.

 

“Thanks for having me over Smurf,” Adrian told her, his voice practically saccharine in its feigned sweetness. “Lunch was great, as always.” 

 

He turned to Deran and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you at home.” And then he just left, all five Codys staring after him.

 

In Adrian’s wake, the five of them stood staring at an empty doorway in utter silence for a long moment. While Deran was furious with her, he did take a not small amount of pleasure from the shock on Smurf’s face. She had obviously been spoiling for a fight but Adrian hadn’t given it to her. And as much as Deran wanted to scream and yell and fight back at her, he knew that Adrian had had the right idea. The best way to beat Smurf was to not give her what she wanted. She didn’t make it easy, though. She was an expert in getting under his and his brothers’ skins and manipulating them to her own ends.  

 

Deran ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve gotta open the bar,” he blurted out. With a final glare at Smurf, he made his own hasty exit.

 

He’d almost gotten to his car when he heard his name.

 

“Deran!” He whirled around at Craig’s shout. The taller man was jogging after him, Pope on his heels at a more sedate pace. “What the hell was that? You put Adrian in the hospital?” Behind him, Pope leveled Deran with a glare.

 

Part of Deran appreciated that his brothers obviously cared about his boyfriend but mostly, he just wanted to get far away from this house. Deran shrugged and turned away from them.

 

“Dude!” Craig yelled behind him as he grabbed Deran’s arm and spun him around.

 

“Look, whatever happened is between me and Adrian, okay? So don’t worry about it.” Deran told him, his voice louder than he intended. “Besides, it was a long time ago. We’re past it.”

 

Craig was clearly upset but he let Deran go when he jerked his arm free. Deran glanced at Pope, surprised to see a stony expression on his face. 

 

Deran paused for a moment longer but when neither one of his brothers spoke up, he quickly got in his truck and peeled away. 

 

\----

It was more than an hour before he pulled into his own driveway. He’d gone to the bar first but there was really nothing for him to do there for the next couple of hours so he’d fucked around a bit before sucking it up and going home.

 

Deran gently placed his keys on the counter as he walked in, reluctant to make too much noise. When he got himself practically tip-toeing into the living room he stopped and shook his head at himself. Adrian hadn’t seemed upset at the house but even if he had been, Deran had no reason to feel so uneasy in his own home. 

 

The living room was empty. Deran looked twice to make sure he hadn’t somehow missed his boyfriend then backtracked through the house to see if he was in the bedroom. Finding that empty too, Deran headed for the deck. It was a terrible time of day to try surfing but there was nowhere else to look and Adrian’s car was in the driveway so unless he’d walked a few miles down the beach, he had to be here somewhere.  

 

Finding the deck also empty, Deran slipped off his shoes and ventured down the stairs and onto the beach. He made it all the way down to the water without seeing him and a quick look out into the ocean showed no surfers. Deran was starting to get worried when he began the trek back to the house and stopped in his tracks.

 

With a little huff of laughter and a shake of his head, Deran made for the tiny copse of trees in front of the house. The first thing Adrian had done when they moved in was put up a hammock. Since then, he’d spent so much time there Deran honestly believed he liked it better than their bed.

 

Sure enough, Adrian was lying in the hammock, his eyes closed and his earbuds in. Deran eased into the lounge chair set up nearby. They’d tried to share the hammock exactly one time, at Adrian’s insistence, and while it had been nice, it was  _ way _ more hassle than it was worth. The lounger was plenty comfortable for Deran to use when he joined Adrian out here.

 

Once he was seated, he kicked up a foot and shoved at the hammock, causing it to rock gently and Adrian to pop his head up and look around. When he saw Deran, he slipped the earbuds out of his ears and turned to face him. 

 

“Hey,” Adrian greeted softly.

 

“Hey.”

 

Adrian raised an eyebrow. “How’d it go after I left?”

 

Deran shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. I left pretty much right after you did.” He looked out at the water to avoid Adrian’s gaze. “Went to the bar but Heather’s opening later so I don’t need to be there for a couple of hours.”

 

“Ok.” Adrian answered after a beat. He seemed to be waiting for Deran to say something but Deran didn’t know what he wanted to hear so he stayed silent. Eventually, Adrian huffed in frustration. “Hey. Look at me.”

 

Deran did.

 

“Smurf’s a bitch.” Adrian stated plainly and Deran laughed.

 

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she’s wrong.”

 

Adrian rolled his eyes. “About what? That I’m too weak to walk away?” He scoffed. “I did walk away Deran. But then you changed and I liked what I saw so I came back. I came back because I love you not because I couldn’t bear to be without you.” 

 

Adrian was a terrible liar, he wore his heart on his sleeve and on his face and so Deran knew he was telling the truth. Didn’t make him feel any better though.

 

“I’m sorry.” Deran told him. “I don’t think I’ve ever said it but-”

 

“You’ve said it plenty, Deran. Maybe not with words but in other ways.” Adrian assured him. “And I promise you, if I thought for a second you would do it again, I wouldn’t be here. I  _ know  _ you’re sorry.” 

 

Deran nodded slowly, not saying anything.

 

“But thank you for finally saying it with words.” Adrian added.

 

“I love you too, you know?” Deran finally responded. A small smile lit up Adrian’s face. “Don’t think I’ve ever said that with words, either.”

 

Adrian’s lips quirked. “Nah, you haven’t. That’s nice to hear too. But don’t worry. I learned how to speak Deran Cody a long time ago. I’d like to think I’m fluent by now.”

 

Deran couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips as he stood up and leaned over Adrian. He braced his hands on either side of Adrian’s head and leant down for a soft kiss, their lips barely brushing each other.

 

When Deran pulled back, Adrian grabbed at his shirt and tugged. “Woah, no. Not in the hammock,” Deran objected.

 

Adrian rolled his eyes. “Come on, just get in. We can make it work.”

 

They went back and forth silently for a long moment before Deran sighed. Adrian’s smile made it worth it, he decided. He’d happily continue losing fights to Adrian if it got the man to smile like that.

 

Of course, Deran had had a valid reason for objecting as they were both vividly reminded of in a matter of seconds. As Deran tried to sit on the hammock and Adrian shifted to give him room, the whole thing flipped on them and they ended up eating sand.

 

There was a breathless moment where they processed what had happened before Adrian started laughing. Deran grumbled as he sat up but Adrian pulled him back down. This time it was Adrian who braced himself over Deran, though this kiss was substantially more passionate than the first kiss.

 

When he pulled away, Adrian caught Deran’s gaze. “I don’t care what Smurf has to say, Deran. I really could not care less what that woman thinks of me. She can say what she wants. But I’m not going to let her come between us, okay? So if you’re worried that she’s going to send me running, don’t. I came into this with eyes wide open. I know what I’m getting myself into.”


End file.
